


Like a shooting star into the world

by stjarna



Series: Earth vs. Space (Team Space) [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Birth, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Tumblr Prompt, birth-related grossness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-27 21:40:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20955332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stjarna/pseuds/stjarna
Summary: Based on an anonymous tumblr prompt: "I have a prompt-ask if you have time! Basically Jemma in labour in a really tricky situation with a stressed out Fitz :)"





	Like a shooting star into the world

**Author's Note:**

> Big thank you to @dilkirani for the beta
> 
> Banner by me.
> 
> P.S. This is my 250th fic :)

Fitz shook out the blanket with a frustration more driven by anxiety than anger. “I knew it. I knew I shouldn’t have let you talk me into this. I knew it was a ludicrous idea. But nooo. You with your arguments. ‘Oh Fitz, once you’re past 37 weeks, first babies are more likely to be born late.’” He parroted what Jemma had said to him a few days ago in a fake English accent that did a terrible job at mimicking hers.

“Well, they are,” Jemma countered loudly, her palms pressed into the small of her back, her ponytail bouncing as she shook her head indignantly. “The statistics clearly show that—”

“Well, clearly our baby hasn’t read those bloody statistics,” Fitz yelled back, giving up on folding the blanket and instead tossing it angrily into their picnic basket. “And now we’re in the middle of absolutely nowhere and your water just broke.”

“The odds were in our favor,” Jemma replied, glaring back at him with fiery eyes. “Aside from times when we had been ripped apart by more-than-unfortunate events, we have always watched the Perseid meteor shower together. It’s a tradition. Plus, the midwife said that it’s best to do something fun on your due date since you’re unlikely to give birth on it and there’s no use in sitting around twiddling your thumbs.”

“Okay, but we could have stayed in town, close to the hospital, like I had suggested.” Fitz gestured into the dark distance, vaguely attempting to find the direction their home was in.

“We needed to get away from light pollution to truly enjoy the meteor shower,” Jemma growled through gritted teeth, before exhaling sharply. “Plus, my water  _ just _ broke and I barely have contractions. We have plenty of time to drive back to the city before—uggghhhhh.”

Fitz stared at her, frozen to the spot, as she bent over from the intensity of her contraction.

Once the contraction had passed, she released a calming breath through rounded lips, straightening back up and looking at Fitz with just a hint of worry in her eyes. “Well, let’s get going then.”

Fitz nodded in silence, throwing the rest of their belongings into the trunk of the car before rushing to the driver’s side.

* * *

“Pull over,” Jemma exclaimed, gripping the door handle until her knuckles turned white and cradling her contracting stomach with her free hand.

Fitz did a double-take, trying not to lose focus on the road. “But—”

“Pull over. Now,” Jemma barked with more urgency.

“Jemma?” The single word was laced with panicked worry.

“The baby is coming,” Jemma explained, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. “I can feel it.” She dropped her head back as far as her headrest allowed. “God, I know my mum said she always had short labors but—uuuggggghh.” Her growling voice sounded strangely unfamiliar to her own ears.

She was propelled forward, her safety belt keeping her secure, when Fitz stepped on the brakes, swerving to the side to come to a sudden halt on the side of the narrow country road.

“Get the blanket. Get the blanket,” Jemma groaned, opening the door and scooting outside, gripping the edge of the door for support. “Get the medical kit and put on some surgical gloves,” she instructed him as she struggled to take off her leggings, noticing Fitz scramble to follow her orders in the periphery of her vision.

She tried to waddle to where he put down the blanket when another contraction caused her knees to buckle. She reached forward, relieved when Fitz took her hand, helping her stay upright and guiding her to the blanket. She squatted down, gripping Fitz’s hand tightly as the cool summer air brushed against her naked netherregions.

“Oh, god.” She pressed her eyes shut, squeezing Fitz’s hand more tightly and pushing through another contraction. “Fitz, she’s coming. She’s coming. I think one more push and—You have to catch her. Please, please, please.” 

She breathed heavily as one contraction faded only to be quickly followed by the next one. Reluctantly, Fitz let go of her hand and Jemma watched him scramble to put on latex gloves from the medical kit, tears streaming down her face from a mix of pain and overwhelming emotions. She let herself fall backwards, trying to wrap her hands around her knees to pull herself forward for another push, while Fitz knelt between her legs, his eyes wide and worried as he tried to make out their daughter’s head in the darkness of the night as it pushed into the world.

Suddenly the pressure between her legs subsided and Jemma felt their child slip out of the birth canal. She listened in panic, a sob of relief escaping her when she heard their daughter’s quiet cries.

“She’s here,” she barely perceived Fitz’s exclamation, her mind in a fog. Her eyes—like in a haze—watched him wrap the tiny pink body into his jacket before reaching up to place their daughter into Jemma’s arms.

Jemma’s breathing was quick and shallow as she inspected their baby girl for the first time, tears clouding her vision. “Hey there,” she whispered. “You were in quite the hurry all of a sudden, weren’t you?” She looked up at Fitz, whose eyes were tear-rimmed yet proud. “She’s here,” she echoed him and he nodded in silence, tucking a strand of Jemma’s hair behind her ear. Jemma sniffed, trying in vain to compose herself. “We’ll have to cut the umbilical cord. There should be something in the med kit to allow us to tie and cut it.”

Fitz bobbed his head and scavenged through the med kit until he found something suitable. He tied off the umbilical cord with trembling hands before cutting it. “I’ll call an ambulance now,” he remarked breathlessly.

Jemma nodded, watching him as he got up and stepped around the car. In the background she could hear him talk to the emergency personnel, but her mind was too focussed on the squirming baby in her arms, the quiet wailing escaping their daughter’s lips. “Come on, let’s try this,” she said quietly, unbuttoning her blouse and pulling her bra down to expose her breast. It took a moment until the little baby managed to latch on, just as Fitz returned, their second blanket gripped tightly.

He wrapped it around Jemma’s shoulders before sitting down next to her, wrapping one arm around her. He curled his hand around the back of Jemma’s neck, kissing her forehead and gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. “They’ll be here as quickly as possible.”

“Good,” Jemma replied quietly, her eyes immediately wandering back to their baby.

“You’re amazing. Both of you,” Fitz said, full of admiration, pressing another kiss to Jemma’s temple.

Jemma couldn’t help but smile widely. “This is certainly a story worth telling.”

Fitz scoffed. “Definitely.” He took a deep breath, looking up into the night sky. “Maybe she really wanted to watch the Perseids with us?”

“Maybe,” Jemma concurred, her gaze wandering to the stars as well.

“Did you see one?” Fitz asked when Jemma suddenly gasped.

Jemma grimaced, shaking her head. “No, no, I think my—” She flexed her muscles as the contraction rushed through her before releasing a relieved breath. “Yep, that was the afterbirth.”

Fitz’s face contorted. “Ugh, I forgot about that. Gross.”

Jemma laughed. “Come on. You made it this far. We just need a bag or something. They will want to examine it to ensure it’s complete when they get here.”

“Fine,” Fitz replied grumpily, getting up to fetch a bag. 

He returned moments later and packed up the afterbirth, emanating sounds in varying degrees of disgust.

Jemma took in the unusual scene around her, their baby girl in her arms, her husband cleaning up, the blanket by the side of the road, their car, nature surrounding her. It slowly sank in that she had just given birth—under the stars no less. Her gaze wandered up and she gasped when she saw the bright shooting star rushing across the sky.

Fitz looked up in panic. “Don’t tell me there’s more.”

Jemma couldn’t help but laugh. “No. This time I did see a shooting star.”

His expression softened and his lips pulled into a gentle smile. He looked over his shoulder at the sky and then back at Jemma and their daughter. “Did you wish for something?”

Jemma chuckled. “Even if I believed in things like that, what could I possibly wish for in this moment?”

Fitz tied up the bag with the afterbirth and sat back down next to Jemma, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and reaching over to tickle their daughter’s chin. “Don’t know. Suppose for the ambulance to arrive soon.”

“They will,” Jemma replied, smiling happily, before leaning over to kiss her husband and the father of her Perseids baby.   
  



End file.
